Gear review standard bearer Consumer Reports has its new phone rankings out. Some interesting news! The iPhone 4 is still blackballed, the 4S made the cut, and some dubious Androids blow them both away.

The iPhone 4 had, paradoxically, long been ranked Consumer Reports' best phone, while simultaneously not being recommended to buy. Which made one question what exactly the hell "best" meant to the magazine—but here we are in the present day, with a new batch of smartphone rankings out. The iPhone 4S, with an improved antenna design that protects it from ye olde death grip, is now officially "recommended" by CR, yet the iPhone is no longer the greatest of them all.

If you are looking to buy a refrigerator or other boxy, new stainless steel-clad appliance, there…
Read more Read more

So what's on top?

Those top scorers included the Samsung Galaxy S II phones, the Motorola Droid Bionic, and several other phones that boast larger displays than the iPhone 4S and run on faster 4G networks.

...

Other phones that topped the iPhone 4S include the LG Thrill ($100 on AT&T), which has the ability to capture stills and videos in 3D, as well as display them on its 4.3-inch 3D display

OK, Galaxy, sure—but the Bionic? And a bloody LG Thrill? The fact that LTE and god damn 3D screens were weighted enough to oust the iPhone seems off. Putting a handset whose chief quality is shitty glasses-free 3D among the best possible phones in the world seems just as ludicrous as Consumer Reports not recommending its #1 pick. [Consumer Reports]